Exjade® (deferasirox, ICL670) in the treatment of chronic iron overload associated with blood transfusion

Although blood transfusions are important for patients with anemia, chronic transfusions inevitably lead to iron overload as humans cannot actively remove excess iron. The cumulative effects of iron overload lead to significant morbidity and mortality, if untreated. Although the current reference standard iron chelator deferoxamine has been used clinically for over four decades, its effectiveness is limited by a demanding therapeutic regimen that leads to poor compliance. Deferasirox (Exjade(R), ICL670, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland) is a once-daily, oral iron chelator approved for the treatment of transfusional iron overload in adult and pediatric patients. The efficacy and safety of deferasirox have been established in a comprehensive clinical development program involving patients with various transfusion-dependent anemias. Deferasirox has a dose-dependent effect on iron burden, and is as efficacious as deferoxamine at comparable therapeutic doses. Deferasirox therapy can be tailored to a patient's needs, as response is related to both dose and iron intake. Since deferasirox has a long half-life and is present in the plasma for 24 hours with once-daily dosing, it is unique in providing constant chelation coverage with a single dose. The availability of this convenient, effective, and well tolerated therapy represents a significant advance in the management of transfusional iron overload.